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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2019)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | APRIL 13, 2019 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR | 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respect- ing an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Govern- ment for a redress of grievances. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) The 90by30 Project and K(no)W More (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint submis- sions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) The 90by30 Project is a communi- ty-wide effort to reduce child abuse and neglect in Lane County by 90 per- cent by the year 2030. Most of us — 98 percent of the Lane County adults in- terviewed in a recent survey — share some beliefs about children: We be- lieve they deserve to grow up safe and healthy and that, if they are harmed, it is our responsibility to support and help them in healing. Reducing child abuse and neglect 90 percent by 2030 is clearly a challenging task. Some people we talk to have said they feel overwhelmed at the thought of it — it seems too large and too com- plicated. Where do we begin? What are the most important things to do to give us the best chance to reach this goal in Lane County? That’s where 90by30 comes in. We want to give people the tools to “play Guest Viewpoint By David Bitner 90by30 their part” in keeping kids safe and healthy. If we can change the mindset that child abuse is someone else’s prob- lem — a problem to be solved by the police or Child Protective Services or schools — we can shift the social norms that keep us from coming together as a “village” to raise a child. Every region in Lane County will de- velop its own prevention plan, its own unique blend of strategies and resourc- es to prevent abuse and neglect. But each plan will also be complemented by an overarching countywide strate- gy: the K(no)w More media campaign, which emphasizes that, once we know more about child abuse and how to prevent it, we can say no more to any- thing that harms children and families. Based on Play Your Part, the suc- cessful public service campaign imple- mented by Australia’s NAPCAN (Na- tional Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect), K(no)w More will launch in 2019 and include television ads, radio spots and a social media presence. Most of all, it will emphasize the idea that each of us has a role to play in end- ing child abuse. No matter who you are or what part you play in the com- munity, you can help create a positive, healthy environment for kids. LETTERS Someone on Lane ESD with some get-it-doneness Well another May election is com- ing up. May elections have always been a bit of a mystery to me. It always appears I’m voting for a person or a proposal I know nothing about. I decided to do a little advance re- search on the upcoming 2019 May election. One issue is to elect a repre- sentative to the Lane Education Ser- vices District Board of Directors (Lane ESD). I’ve talked to educators and dis- covered how important Lane ESD is to Siuslaw Schools. This is the District that covers Siuslaw Schools. It’s been my experience living on the Coast for 16 years that any organization based in Eugene treats the Oregon Coast like an ugly stepchild. We need a “homey” to further our interests. Leonora Kent is that hom- ey. She has been an educator at Lane Community College-Florence Cam- pus for over 14 Years. She is an activist and community leader for the coast. I’ve worked with Leonora on several non-profit events. She’s an incredible lady — creative, focused, organized and blessed with an abundance of en- ergy and get-it-doneness. The Siuslaw School District needs what the Lane ESD can do for it. I’m given to understand that Leonora is running against a person from Elmira. We need Leonora as the District 4 representative on the Lane Education Service District… desperately. Do it for the Siuslaw kids. —Eric D. Hauptman Florence Let the axe fall where it must The Mueller investigation seems to be at an end. I say “seems to be” be- cause many on the left side of the aisle are already looking for an out from their non-stop demonizing of Presi- dent Trump. After almost two years of turn- ing over every rock on the planet, one commentator appeared that he couldn’t believe the President was not in chains going to the dungeon for life. Another made time during her vaca- tion to go on the air while barely able to hold back the tears of travesty that the president will not be flogged in Times Square for his crimes. Another was in complete denial lining up guest after guest who were also in denial, ending it with the obvious explanation that “it must be a cover up.” This is what passes for competent commentary on our times? Maybe my characterization is a little over the top. But in my defense, com- pared to their so-called reporting, I think I’m pretty close. Going forward from here, we must brace ourselves for Projection and Rationalization. After all, these were all good and honest journalists looking out for us. If they made mistakes, it was all in the name of good journalism, right? What you will hear is a characteri- zation of anyone who does not see it their way as covering up for this ad- ministration. This is called Projection. After all, we were told the adminis- tration and the president had evil in- tentions and aren’t good Americans, which is why the former head of the CIA told us his own actions were trea- sonous. This is called Rationalization. If you think I am carrying water for the Trump administration, you would be wrong. I don’t see angels on either side. What I do see is, after years of a stalled economy and sluggish business health, is a resurgence. I see our little town sprucing things up for a bright future; I see and hear my children looking forward, not backwards. I think there is a good future for my grandchildren if the lessons of the past are not repeated. I also see danger in those who in their quest for power push ignorant, illogical and dangerous ideals on our country for their own benefit. I say let the axe fall where it must. Just make sure you’re not doing it with a smile on your face. For no matter which way it falls, sooner or later the roles will be reversed. I pray that what needs strengthened will be, and what needs to fade does. — David T. Eckhardt Florence Experiencing The Wall I was not able to view the Wall That Heals that came to town this past weekend but have memories of the “Wall.” I was in Army from 1962 to 1965 and stationed in Germany. At that time and like most Americans we did not know anything about what was go- ing on in Vietnam. It was not until the ’70s that protests became forefront be- cause TV exposed us to what we were to discover was an unjust war where our young men were being killed. I was against the War but what I could never understand is the animos- ity from the general public against our returning vets. In 1982 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, designed by Maya Lin, was dedicated. Around 1987, I was working on an archictural project and was fortunate to spend a weekend in D.C. where I visited muse- ums and the “Wall.” I did not physically lose anyone so there were no names on the wall for me but have a few friends that were psychologically damaged. Just to walk down the wall, read names and touch the wall was overpowering. Then seeing Vets touching the wall and crying and seeing the momentous placed for lost ones caused me to sit down, take a very deep breath and wipe the tears from my eyes. Yesterday was the past. Tomorrow is the future. Today is a gift. —Win Jolley Florence Wall partly a ‘whitewash’ over fuller Vietnam truth Did we learn anything from the re- cent siren-and-flashing-lights appear- ance in Florence of the traveling Viet- nam “Wall that Heals” ? The Wall portrays a list of U.S. ser- vice personnel who died as a direct re- sult of the war — a number overshad- owed by those who committed suicide upon return, some estimates reaching 300,000. Significant concealed U.S. financial and military support for Vietnam ac- tually began well before 1955. Daniel Ellsburg, in his monumentally de- tailed book, “Secrets,” shows the extent to which US Administrations funding of the French was made without dis- closure to the US Public or Congress. Costs ultimately reached, in current value, trillions of dollars. As to Vietnam, Robert McNamara, Secty of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, who in 1965 arranged the first major troop place- ments over 50,000 into Vietnam, concluded in his 1995 book, In Retro- spect: The Tragedies and Lessons from Vietnam: “We were wrong, terribly wrong...” Resembling later orchestrated U.S. leadership deceptions concerning Iraq and “weapons of mass destruction,” as to Vietnam the American public was not honestly informed nor consulted about Vietnam from the inception in 1950. CIA sabotage missions into North Vietnam in the 1950s, including bombs, agricultural poisons and falsi- fied information to create panic in the population, were never publicly re- vealed. Nor was the fact that U.S. field commanders were asking for consid- eration of tactical nuclear weapons. Nor was the extent of civilian inju- ries, US-supervised torture programs or assassination squads, or intention- al, systematic village destruction or killings. This includes My Lai, in 1968, where 150 U.S. troops killed over 500 civilians — mostly women and children — as revealed by Seymore Hersch in 1969. Original military re- views suppressed actual findings. This pattern of deception contin- ued through to Nixon’s hidden mas- sive 1969 B-52 strikes into Cambodia. Those wide-spread systematic hidden bombings, revealed with his 1970 invasion into Cambodia, ultimately helped prompt the National Guard killings of Kent State students. I interviewed Hersch weeks before he released the My Lai story, a short time before I was drafted, ultimately becoming an 11-B infantry sergeant, then editor of the 2d Infantry Division newspaper. The 1968 Tet offensive finally opened the window onto Vietnam reality — in conjunction with such ‘leaked’ resources as the “Pentagon Pa- pers” — revealing the years of broader lies and myths for what they were. In light of this larger reality, it’s re- gretful that the “Wall” can be used or seen — in part — as a “whitewash” for a fuller story about Vietnam: how US military and political leadership hid reality from the public, and the resulting true costs to the American public, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos — and how the U.S. media and public repeatedly appear willing to celebrate and embrace military mobilization without accompanying moral mobili- zation. —Rand Dawson Siltcoos Lake USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2019 © Siuslaw News Siuslaw News Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Pub- lishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541- 997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Jenna Bartlet Ned Hickson Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Marketing Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publica- tion; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $79; 6-month in-county, $56; 10-week subscrip- tion, $25; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $102; 6-month out-of-county, $69; 10-week subscription, $35; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $134; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Letters to the Editor policy The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the edi- tor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are sub- ject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of let- ters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumen- tative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or documented will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside the Siuslaw News readership area will only be pub- lished at the discretion of the editor. 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Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line: 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@ oregonlegislature.gov State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown @oregonlegislature.gov West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us